Observations and Inferences for HONY

Observations

Inferences

Photos that go as far back as January 2009-January 2011 are sparse and do not have captions/stories beneath them. Around January 2011, the captions begin to show up beneath the photos Stanton takes. These captions are not nearly as long as the more recent photos, and they do not really tell the story of people, but give context. The number of “Notes” his photos had received remained in the hundreds and even less for a very long time. Around 2011, they began to go into the thousands. As the “Notes” increase, so do the number of photos he posts. Primarily takes portraits that focus on the individual and not any surrounding features. Lack of landscapes. Consistent longer captions appear in 2014, and as time goes on captions become longer. Some are stories, some are quotes. Stories definitely tug on the heartstrings no matter their tones. Some photos have solemn faces, some with no expression, and some that display joy. Some photos are not portraits. Includes hands, feet, pictures of a picture, etc. There are photos of individuals outside of New York, including his most recent project- Iran. Refugees People that have experienced horrors. Comments that Iran is not as bad as some make it out to be. Makes a note of where the photos were taken; helps to show the difference between photos from New York and photos from other countries.

HONY probably was not as big of a hit at the time; it was more than likely in its stepping stone phase. He seemed to be experimenting with types of subjects he photographed. Presumably, he wants to give the audience the context of his photos. Stanton attempts to explain his work and why he feels (as well as why others should feel) that his work at a “photo census” of New York is valuable. More and more people are being exposed to his photography and website. Stanton attempts to keep up with his audience and tries to give them more of what they want- the stories and photos of the humans of New York. This once hobby seems to be turning into a bigger deal with deeper meaning behind it. Capturing a person and their face is personal. The title of his project is “Humans of New York”- he wants to showcase the individuals and who they are. Makes me think of when people say not to slap someone in their face as that is their “identity”. Similar thought process here- photographing a portrait captures their identity. Context is not longer enough for Stanton. He wants to tell the stories of these people, not just show the world their face. A photo can be superficial without context or prior knowledge. His captions, especially the longer ones, help to tell the stories of these people. He creates work with a deeper meaning. Stanton switches tones frequently between his photos. In this sense, he is not trying to depress or make anyone happy, but rather showcase the realities of life. Sometimes life is harsh (i.e. in case of refugees), sometimes life is wonderful (finding callings and meanings in life), and sometimes, people forget to recognize the small and beautiful parts of life (young children and their innocence). Shows that Stanton is respectful of his subjects’ wishes. He preserves anonymity but still allows their stories to be told through the captions. Stanton has obviously found a passion in taking photos of people and telling their stories. When taking photos of refugees, he seems to be trying to give them their identity back that may or may not have been stripped from them in their homelands. Furthermore, he shows that America is not the only place in the world (shocking!- not). He travels and goes all over the world to show life from many different points of view. It enhances the meaning of his work, even if he isn’t just taking pictures of the humans of New York. Furthermore, he encourages individuals to go out into the world and find out information for themselves and not just assume what they hear is completely 100% true (especially in case of Iran).

If I were to choose HONY as my topic for my rhetorical analysis paper, I would want to focus on the photos that deal with the people in relationships and/or families and their experiences. Some of the stories are so riveting; it makes it hard to not scroll through all the pictures and learn more about people worldwide. It is quite obvious that he chooses his subjects carefully, and I want to examine them and their experiences. I think it would be interesting to compare and contrast the pathos of the pictures/stories; for example, how many stories are positive? How many are negative? Furthermore, does it mark a trend about relationships and families in today's society? If most of them are positive anecdotes, it could be the silver lining that shows that the concepts of love and relationships may not be as lost as society implies they are. There is so much to talk about in the subject area, and I feel that the rhetoric behind these photos would definitely be worth delving into.